ALTAMONTE SPRINGS - With two players still alive in singles play and two pairs left in doubles, the King girls are poised to exceed last season's third-place success.
The Lions, which start one senior and four sophomores, enter today's Class 3A singles finals and doubles semifinals tied at second place (8 points) with Naples Barron Collier. Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas holds a strong first place with 11 points.
Thanks to a standout performance by King's No. 5 Sarah Meade, the Lions were able to overcome the elimination of their top two players, Linda Tien and Brooke Allen, to tough semifinal losses. Meade, a first-year starter, defeated Baron Collier's Christina Johnstone 7-5, 6-4. In the semifinals, she defeated the tournament's top seed, Samantha Sharifi, in a gritty 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory.
No. 3 Paige Kensrue also boosted the Lions, easily winning her first match 6-0, 6-0, and her semifinal 6-1, 6-1.
Tien and Allen won their doubles quarterfinal in straight sets, as did Kensrue and No. 4 Marissa Sullivan. They will resume in the semifinals today at Sanlando Park.
In their first visit to the tournament, Alonso girls had a tough day but are still alive with their top player Megan Broderick in the finals. Broderick beat her quarterfinal opponent 7-5, 6-1, then defeated Tien 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals.
"Best case scenario, she's state champion," Alonso coach Helen Soash said. "Worst-case scenario, she's runner-up. I'm okay with that."
Sisters Maria F. Ospina (No. 2) and Maria G. Ospina (3), who are from Venezuela, took their losses hard. Maria F. fell to second-seeded Barron Collier's Ulia Talalenko 6-2, 6-0. Maria G. played a tough three-setter against Gainesville Eastside's Tammy Ju, losing in the third-set tiebreak.
Alonso could possibly finish with three points if Broderick wins today.
4A: It's been a long week for Gaither's Brianna Williams, who has been battling a cold while trying to make one last hurrah in the Class 4A state tournament.
Yet it has all been worth it as the senior finished with a singles state championship and returned Wednesday to try for an overall championship against the team winner, Jenni-Lee Heisner of Miami Sunset. That one last hurdle proved to be too much, though, as Williams lost 6-3, 6-2.
Williams and Heisner were tied 3-3 in the first set, but Williams couldn't match Heisner's consistency and variety of shots.
"You couldn't get anything past her except winners," Williams said. "She didn't make unforced errors."
Williams, who will attend Indiana in the fall, was 19-0 heading into the match. She has been among the county's top three players since she was a freshman.
"It was pretty sad finishing my last high school match," she said. "This year has been great, winning districts as a team. I'll miss it."
